For years I didn't. Now I watch(and archive) so much recorded stuff, it bothers me when recordings are spoiled by the EAS messages.

So now I try to be more religious in using standby. But probably the only reason I do it is because I have a Harmony remote with a dedicated button for Standby. I'm sure I would rarely use Standby if I had to always do it through the menu.

For years I didn't. Now I watch(and archive) so much recorded stuff, it bothers me when recordings are spoiled by the EAS messages.

So now I try to be more religious in using standby. But probably the only reason I do it is because I have a Harmony remote with a dedicated button for Standby. I'm sure I would rarely use Standby if I had to always do it through the menu.

Yeah, I've been using it since 2001 every night. There probably isn't any reason behind it, but I like to see the LEDs turn off. I have always used custom remotes (first Philips Prontos and now my own home-brew creation) so it's mostly just a personal preference.

I have one button labeled System Off that sends out about 14 different IR commands. One click, the room goes dark, and it's off to bed.

There are still a lot of good reasons to use Standby like EAS alerts, but without a Harmony or some other customizable remote I probably wouldn't bother.

I don't use it. I'm OTA only and EAS messages are only once a month, and usually have already happened before prime time hits so my recordings are mostly unaffected.
I also use a universal remote which could easily be programmed with the stand by code, I just don't bother.

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So this EAS thing, does standby just prevent a forced channel change if you're recording something and is that true for both digital OTA and digital cable?

Also (though I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this one), if the actual digital channel you're recording sends out an EAS (I can tell I'm old, keep wanting to call it EBS) alert, there's no way for being in standby to filter it out, right?

Where do you live where you see more than like three EAS messages a year?

For me, in Las Vegas, I see more than three per WEEK. Most are tests, but every time there is a chance of rain, they issue flash flood watches. If rain falls, then they become warnings, if it becomes a thunderstorm it's flash flood and severe weather warnings, repeated at 4 minute intervals, until the weather has left the entire southern half of Nevada.

However, I thought about how little many people know about the standby function, and felt that ANY poll should somehow list all that it has to offer, and give the poll takers a question like:

If you didn't know all this, would you try standby, or begin using it?

Unfortunately, I retired for the night, and this is what I woke up to find what had transpired. I thought adding the desired parameters could wait eight hours...

Poll results can be slanted depending on what is asked and how it is asked (as well as what is not asked). I see a rebuttal poll in the future. The person I suggested the poll to didn't set this one up. Somebody who doesn't like what I have to say, and pulls no punches, took the liberty of setting this up.

I'll figure out how to set up a poll, give this one some time, and then try my best approach at it.

Region of country, cable provider, and how much of a hassle the EAS tests/alerts are, varies. I'd also expect clusters of people in regions, like mine, where the EAS actual messages, repeating every four minutes, just because there is a thunderstorm in the southern half of the state, to be denser in YES answers.

Hopefully I'll come up with a poll that helps differentiate those who know what standby does, and choose not to use it, and those who have no idea, so they don't use it.

It's not like the TiVo manuals shed any light on the MANY things it has to offer. I find that pathetic (on TiVo's part), since it's been integrated into generations of TiVo past, and is still around.

So this EAS thing, does standby just prevent a forced channel change if you're recording something and is that true for both digital OTA and digital cable?

Also (though I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this one), if the actual digital channel you're recording sends out an EAS (I can tell I'm old, keep wanting to call it EBS) alert, there's no way for being in standby to filter it out, right?

Does it use an occupied channel?

Quote:

Originally Posted by unitron

Anybody remember radio sets with the CONELRAD symbols on the dial?

Yes. I also remember the nationwide CONELRAD test,even though I was only 5 at the time. Don't recall if it was 640 or 1240 to which we tuned our radio.

For years I didn't. Now I watch(and archive) so much recorded stuff, it bothers me when recordings are spoiled by the EAS messages.

So now I try to be more religious in using standby. But probably the only reason I do it is because I have a Harmony remote with a dedicated button for Standby. I'm sure I would rarely use Standby if I had to always do it through the menu.

+1

However, I use the menus for it. One of these days I'll splurge on the right remote and do it your way.

However, I thought about how little many people know about the standby function, and felt that ANY poll should somehow list all that it has to offer, and give the poll takers a question like:

If you didn't know all this, would you try standby, or begin using it?

Unfortunately, I retired for the night, and this is what I woke up to find had transpired. I thought adding the desired parameters could wait eight hours...

Poll results can be slanted depending on what is asked and how it is asked (as well as what is not asked). I see a rebuttal poll in the future. The person I suggested the poll to didn't set this one up. Somebody who doesn't like what I have to say, and pulls no punches, took the liberty of setting this up.

I'll figure out how to set up a poll, give this one some time, and then try my best approach at it.

Region of country, cable provider, and how much of a hassle the EAS tests/alerts are, varies. I'd also expect clusters of people in regions, like mine, where the EAS actual messages, repeating every four minutes, just because there is a thunderstorm in the southern half of the state, to be denser in YES answers.

Hopefully I'll come up with a poll that helps differentiate those who know what standby does, and choose not to use it, and those who have no idea, so they don't use it.

It's not like the TiVo manuals shed any light on the MANY things it has to offer. I find that pathetic (on TiVo's part), since it's been integrated into generations of TiVo past, and is still around.

The issue was the necessity of the feature, not if people might use it if they knew it even existed. If people don't know that it exists and they're getting by just fine without it or do know about it and don't use it, standby mode is not a must have feature.

How can my poll be slanted? it simply asks if it is used or not. It doesn't even seem to show the results I would have expected. I would have expected a lot more of the tcf tech savvy people to be using it to avoid the EAS issue.

ETA:
on second thought, maybe the <20% that use standby is greatly inflated by the fact that so many people here are of the tech savvy variety

__________________discipuli nostrum bardissimi sunt.
- Assuming based on evidence is not the same as knowing.
- If you want to argue with me at least use some actual facts instead of making it up.

The issue was the necessity of the feature, not if people might use it if they knew it even existed. If people don't know that it exists and they're getting by just fine without it or do know about it and don't use it, standby mode is not a must have feature.

How can my poll be slanted? it simply asks if it is used or not. It doesn't even seem to show the results I would have expected. I would have expected a lot more of the tcf tech savvy people to be using it to avoid the EAS issue.

I am not sure what issue the EAS warning are creating for you. And I suppose that is the point...

I don't remember the last EAS message I saw and I certainly don't know what putting my TiVo in sleep mode would "protect" me from.

So, this may really be a local / regional problem.

Probably the reason for the results of your poll...

If you are replying to me, it's not my poll. Somebody who doesn't like me jumped on the opportunity when I presented the idea to yet another person who gave a blanket statement of the standby mode being only for a niche market. I suggested they shouldn't speak for all of us and maybe a poll was in order.

I'm seeing way too much lean here on only one factor: EAS.

In the thread the poll was suggested in, which I provided a link for in a prior post here, you can find about a dozen reasons you may want to give standby a try.

Yes, the EAS matter is more a problem in some markets/regions than others. It's a pretty well-known fact of life.

Hell I'll just transfer it over here, as best I can, since it's a bit splintered, as even I missed some useful things standby can do:

Quote:

I, too, am a frequent, at least 1x/day(or night) "Standby Mode" user.

I ALWAYS get heckled/hassled when bringing up this TiVo feature, which has been available for generations of TiVos.

If it had no purpose, no use, no benefits, or no users, WHY WOULD TIVO KEEP IT AROUND?

Here a few reasons, some of which have already been brought up:

1: It DOES save a minute amount of electricity, by shutting down, or lowering power, to components/circuits not necessary if you aren't viewing, leaving only what is required for the base DVR functions fully-operational.

2: It shuts off all the front LEDs on the front of the unit, for those of use who like (or need) pitch-dark when sleeping (and have a TiVo in the bedroom), without having to turn them all off, all of the time, in the settings menu. I like them on, when USING it. I hate it when people tell me to shut them off at all times, as opposed to using standby.

3: It stops EAS from changing the actively tuned channels.

4: It stops EAS from recording the banner into your programs. This situation only happens if your EAS system is one of two types, when you are a digital subscriber. If you are an analog subscriber, I *think* it always gets recorded, as opposed to overlaid, and not recorded (but this won't happen, at all, in Standby).

5: Besides the power saving, it reduces the heat generated, and can result in savings on your air conditioning costs. It also can lower the RPM speed of the cooling fan, due to the lower operating temps, giving you a quieter bedroom, also good for those who want/need a dark & quiet room to sleep in.

I'm sure there is more. I take it a step further, by telling my Guided Setup that I have both Cable & Antenna, even though I have no antenna. I then program in a manual, repeating, 1 minute, recording, for each tuner, to record an antenna channel (this is often called "Tuner Parking", by those who use it), which frees up processing power, minimizes hard drive activity, results in further power savings, less heat, and less hard drive wear/tear/seeking noises. I make sure the resulting Season Pass entries are at the very bottom of my list, and I decided on 4AM for them to start. I also park the tuners, when I see no reason to have my units buffering Live TV, like when I am watching recordings. Parked tuners also speed up other things that rely on the limited processing power of the CPU. DVRs must always give the highest priority to the base DVR functions, as well as giving the highest priority to buffering, or recording, the A/V data to the hard drive. One place you can see the difference, greatly, is when you re-organize your Season Pass list. It's no small difference in the length of time it takes to update a long list of SPs. When "parked", using a non-existent antenna channel, the recording won't show up in your Now Playing List, because it aborts, detecting that there is no signal. No signal equals nothing for the hot-running tuner/decoding/encoding components to process

I, too, would like to see the Standby feature become more easily activated, and customizable.

Quote:

One thing I posted in another thread, which I left out of my standby mode benefit list was: It speeds up network transfers (apparently it frees up enough processor cycles to give the networking performance a boost). Combined with "tuner parking", it can make a bigger difference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thom View Post

When TiVos first came out, some owners had problems with the TiVo video output always being on. People who used auto-switching video switches to connect their multiple various devices to a TV input, found that the always-on video of the TiVo caused the video switch to "hang" on the TiVo input to the exclusion of the other inputs. These switches were intended to automatically connect whichever video input was active to the TV. This enabled the owner to not have to select the input to use; they simply powered on the single device they wanted to use at the moment and it was automatically connected to the TV. When changing to another device, they just turned off the first device, then turned the second one on. Adding a TiVo to this setup screwed everything up.

Quote:

That's a good point! I'll make sure to add it to my list, the next time somebody says the whole function should just be removed, claims it doesn't do anything, or otherwise states it has no purpose.

Most (newer) switches come with a remote to force the switch to the desired input. But, remotes get lost, there are usually more involved than people would like to be, and then auto-switching still retains it's value, for both those with old and new switches.

What does the ratio of YES/NO or percentages need to come in at to be considered a "niche"?

Think about how many features your TiVo has that you never use, change, or didn't even know what they did, until somebody told you. If we did a poll on each one, wouldn't many TiVo options/features also be considered "niche", if we were to call even 10%, or less, using it the threshold?

Also, how do we know that everybody is aware of this poll, and not just those who read the thread it was born from?

If I set up a poll, and wanted to slant the results, keeping the poll low-key and asking all my "buddies" to vote would be a potential way. I wouldn't do that on a poll I created. I would want maximum exposure, to yield the most and most accurate results, though...

Also, how do we know that everybody is aware of this poll, and not just those who read the thread it was born from?

You put way too much thought into these non scientifically conducted, statistically worthless polls.

and we know that the responders are probably not just those that read the original thread in the S3 forum because it is it's own thread in a different non tivo series specific forum, Tivo Coffee House. Do you not pay attention to which forums you are posting to?

__________________discipuli nostrum bardissimi sunt.
- Assuming based on evidence is not the same as knowing.
- If you want to argue with me at least use some actual facts instead of making it up.

Back in the S2 days I used it on occasion because it acted like as a passthrough and allowed me to watch something live while the TiVo was recording. These days TiVos don't even have RF outputs so that feature is gone, so really all standby does it turn off the LEDs which really doesn't save any power.

You put way too much thought into these non scientifically conducted, statistically worthless polls.

and we know that the responders are probably not just those that read the original thread in the S3 forum because it is it's own thread in a different non tivo series specific forum, Tivo Coffee House. Do you not pay attention to which forums you are posting to?

This is where I suggested DianeBrat should set up a poll, which you took the liberty of doing, and chose how you phrased the question. I think naming the poll thread "Do you use standby mode?" and then making the actual poll question "Do you use standby mode on your Tivo(s) on a regular basis?" is why we have one "Poll Fail" answer (which is my true feelings of the matter, but I answered a truthful YES). Bravo! Great slight of hand (or words)!

Had you stuck to whether, or not, anybody uses it, without adding "on a regular basis", I think the numbers would be different. That simple variable you added adds complexities, and a slant in what I know you want to see.

More people use it on just their bedroom TiVo, than on their Living Room ones. How do I know? It's been posted by others, besides myself, that a TiVo in Standby, in your bedroom, creates a darker, cooler, and quieter room, more conducive to being able to fall asleep. Yes, I know some people can fall asleep with a WWII movie on at full volume, but not all can. Some NEED dark, quiet, and a comfortable temperature.

I was only saying that the link you posted in the other thread has probably directed the bulk of the people who have answered the poll, to the poll. Bulk isn't even an accurate description for the number of people who have placed their answers to this poll (so far), and it already seems to have stagnated. Time will tell.

Back in the S2 days I used it on occasion because it acted like as a passthrough and allowed me to watch something live while the TiVo was recording. These days TiVos don't even have RF outputs so that feature is gone, so really all standby does it turn off the LEDs which really doesn't save any power.

As much as I hate to correct a moderator, I think we both can live with this:

1. Yes, It turns off the front LEDs.

2. It turns off ALL AV output, thus freeing up those processing cycles for other tasks (like network transfers, indexing the Guide Cache, and Garbage Collection). When these tasks aren't in progress, then it translates into energy consumption savings and reduced heat from the processing chip(s).

3. It DOES save power, and I have measured it on multiple occasions, using multiple measuring methods. It's only a few cents, when it comes to your electric bill (varies with your electricity rates). But, if this was on Mythbusters, they'd prove it DOES save power. To really get the most savings and heat reduction, you'd need to also use what if referred to as "tuner parking" (tuning your tuners to a channel that can not be tuned to).

4. The value of the energy and heat (as well as network throughput speed) are directly proportional to how many TiVos you have, what generation they are, and how many of them you use it on, as well as how long they are in standby. I can double my transfer speed from a TiVo HD to a Premiere by putting the HD into standby. The effect is notably less with Premiere to Premiere transfers, but still worth it (to me).

I've already explained all this (and much more, in greater detail), so please scroll through and find my long list, or you can find it posted in the other thread as well:

I voted no.
I used to use standby all the time with the original S3 boxes because of the OLED display. Since I wanted the display to last as long as possible. But when I switched to the Premiere boxes I stopped using standby.

on second thought, maybe the <20% that use standby is greatly inflated by the fact that so many people here are of the tech savvy variety

Actually, depending on who you ask, or who just states what they think without being asked, some (perhaps many) would say that <20% of the people here are of the "tech savvy variety".

It does come up a lot in the upgrade threads, as well as the ones related to potential power supply problems. I don't know the stats, but it seems that (unknown percentage) have "professional" repairs (or upgrades) performed, rather than a DIY solution. The ones that go DIY are usually long-timers that have many posts. The ones that go with a "professional" doing the diagnosis and/or repairs (or upgrades) tend to be newcomers with <10 total posts. This is from my observations, which I'm sure you'll find something to dispute from...

I only bought some "drop in and go" drives from DVR_DUDE, just to see what "magic" he does, and if is claims were valid. IMNSHO, they aren't worth the extra cost, unless you can't follow the step-by-step instructions posted all over the place to DIY. I don't consider leaving all the stock partitions as-is and adding a single 1.7TB extra partition on a 2TB drive upgrade "anything special", compared to what the DIY options do (unless you want to use an external TiVo-approved expander drive along with the upgraded drive, which he says he makes possible).

Yes I did, but that's because the poll is somewhere else, hence the link to it.

Quote:

This is where I suggested DianeBrat should set up a poll, which you took the liberty of doing, and chose how you phrased the question. I think naming the poll thread "Do you use standby mode?" and then making the actual poll question "Do you use standby mode on your Tivo(s) on a regular basis?" is why we have one "Poll Fail" answer (which is my true feelings of the matter, but I answered a truthful YES). Bravo! Great slight of hand (or words)!

Again, the issue is whether or not it is a must have feature, and if you do not use it on a regular basis, it is not necessary to you and so it is not a "must have"

Quote:

Had you stuck to whether, or not, anybody uses it, without adding "on a regular basis", I think the numbers would be different. That simple variable you added adds complexities, and a slant in what I know you want to see.

I'm not angling for any kind of results and I've already said that the results so far are actually more lopsided than I would have expected.

Quote:

More people use it on just their bedroom TiVo, than on their Living Room ones. How do I know? It's been posted by others, besides myself, that a TiVo in Standby, in your bedroom, creates a darker, cooler, and quieter room, more conducive to being able to fall asleep. Yes, I know some people can fall asleep with a WWII movie on at full volume, but not all can. Some NEED dark, quiet, and a comfortable temperature.

If someone uses it on one tivo as you describe, it's still getting used on a regular basis and that person should vote yes. The poll does not ask if you use it on all tivos regularly. Even if someone uses it on 1 of 5 tivos on saturdays, they use standby on a regular basis.

Quote:

I was only saying that the link you posted in the other thread has probably directed the bulk of the people who have answered the poll, to the poll. Bulk isn't even an accurate description for the number of people who have placed their answers to this poll (so far), and it already seems to have stagnated. Time will tell.

Only 23 people have even looked at that thread and there is no way of knowing why they looked at it or what side of the "is standby useful" question they side with, so you can not possible claim that that link there produces any kind of bias. There is nothing scientific about the poll (or any poll here on tcf) and any results have virtually no meaning.

__________________discipuli nostrum bardissimi sunt.
- Assuming based on evidence is not the same as knowing.
- If you want to argue with me at least use some actual facts instead of making it up.